The world as seen by a TV comedy writer

September 21, 2006

Beaver Cleaver resurfaces

My son, Matt, has a great baseball blog worth your attention. Now that his beloved Red Sox are toast he turns his attention to the playoffs.

Here's a magic trick you won't see at the next kiddie party. I'd like to see David Copperfield do this one. Trust me, there's nothing up her sleeve.

For those who have asked to hear what I sounded like as a disc jockey, here's a sample of my work in 1977. Just scroll down the page until you find Beaver Cleaver on TenQ. Yes, that's right. Beaver Cleaver. Warning: I was insane back then.

This is the book about television you've got to read. HELLO, LIED THE AGENT by Ian Gurvitz. It's caustic, it's bitter, it's hilarious.

A fun internet radio station is GREAT BIG RADIO. It's what Jack should be. Good kick ass rock n' roll from the 60's through last Thursday. Plus fun surprises.

Another good book is KINDERGARTEN WARS by Alan Eisenstock. Alan's a former TV sitcom writer who went legit and writes books now. KINDERGARTEN WARS is the true life insanity of what it takes to get your floor ape into private school at the finger paint level. Which nursery school is a feeder for Harvard or Yale? You'll learn here.

Comments

The Just For Laughs link was great! I immediately looked for more and found the ultimate juggling act as well. No nudity, though.Made me wonder if you have ever been to Montreal and if you have any stories about it.

I hope one-and-all can appreciate how friggin' AWESOME Beaver Cleaver (Mr. Levine to you and me...:-) was on the radio! I oughta know! I was the poor slob who had to FOLLOW HIM! Like walking onto a Vaudaville stage after the Marx Brothers!Ken remains a LEGEND in the radio biz...even these many centuries later. THAT's quite the measure of talent, especially in an industry peopled by those (like me) who remain in a prolonged adolescent fantasy...!Quick story; first met Ken in San Diego, at the launch of a new station. He was one of our 'guest jocks' and someone mentioned he and his partner had put together a Mary Tyler Moore script. After lots of prodding (and getting him 'under the influence...) he relented. I still recall the entire staff, literally falling out of their chairs laughing hysterically. Seldom if ever have I ever been so impressed with anyone's creativity. Even more impressive, is the fact that he was, and remains, A GREAT GUY! Which I hope will enable those who don't know him - to enjoy this blog all the more!Ken, I hope you see this, as there's a lot of personal and professional respect coming through. We ALL take vicarious pride in your accomplishments! BTW; It's me, Willie B, currently workig with another admirer, Tom Watson, at 107.9 The Track in Indy! Keep up the great work here (so mere mortals like myself can continue to STEAL your material...:-)!

Ken:Thanks for the link for the airchexx.com! Clicked on it to listen to Beaver Cleaver on Ten-Q, but couldn't get past the KNX=FM format change in 1983. If they had kept that format over the years, JACK-FM wouldn't exist in LA. I still miss KNX-FM to this day.

Willie B.GREAT to hear from you. Been a long time, my friend. 1975, B100 San Diego. I'm introduced to this kid who looks about 13 and he opens his mouth and there's this deep rich mature voice of a 30 year old. And he had talent. I was impressed and of course, threatened. Best of luck in Indy. Listeners there are lucky to have you. Say hi to Tom Watson for me, too. Tom and I worked together in Bakersfield in 1972...when I was 13.

Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. In a career that has spanned over 30 years Ken has worked on MASH, CHEERS, FRASIER, THE SIMPSONS, WINGS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, BECKER, DHARMA & GREG, and has co-created his own series including ALMOST PERFECT starring Nancy Travis. He and his partner wrote the feature VOLUNTEERS. Ken has also been the radio/TV play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres.